Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor

The 379th film I have seen in theaters…

Wait a minute! This is cheating! Its an oversized episode of a television series, that aired on tv 2 days ago! It’s not a movie!!!

Yeah, stuff it. This was as wonderful and enjoyable as the best of movies. It was a knockout, an absolute knockout.

Spoilers will abound. As always, all photos are the property of BBC or “Who”-ever owns them, all right reserved, no copyright infraction is intended.

The Plot

Well, how to explain this one. Lets begin the acknowledgment that The numbering of the Doctors has changed. Eccleston is now D10. Tennant is D11, and Smith is D12. The War Doctor, #9, is about to push the giant button that ends the infamous Time War, killing the Daleks and his people, The Gallifreyans. The twist is that “The Moment”, the machine that kills them all is sentient. It forces Doctor 9 to see what his decision will cause for his future regenerations. He goes through a time vortex and causes a meet up with Doctors 11 and 12. The escape Elizabethan England and work together to stop a Zygon plot to conquer Earth.

A Zygon.

After saving the world, D9 travels back to the Time War and is ready to push the button. 11 and 12 join him, are about to commit genocide together when D12 decides that there needs to be another solution. Using ALL 13 Doctors, they freeze Gallifrey in time and banish it to a pocket universe, to remain protected until a future point.

Actually, that was relatively easy to write.

The Cast

Matt Smith’s tenure as The Doctor is coming to a close. He regenerates in one month’s time. His Doctor has been nuts, but quite enjoyable. The previous Doctor was a tough act to follow, let alone be on screen with.

David Tennant is the definitive Doctor for the new Whovian generation. His 5 years in the role was stunning. He slipped right back into it as if not a day had passed. It was great to finally see his romance with Elizabeth I.

Billie Piper returns to who as “The Moment”, the avatar conscience of the Doomsday weapon that talks to the War Doctor. It’s not Rose that she plays though, its Bad Wolf. A nice twist.

Jenna Coleman is adorable. However, there was very little for her to do in this story, but that’s OK. It’s not her story, its The Doctor’s.

Jemma Redgrave appears here again as Kay Stewart, daughter of legendary Doctor ally The Brigadier. Not always on the same page as the Doctor, it was good to see UNIT involved.

Joanna Page appears as Queen Elizabeth I. It was teased in Tennant’s run that he was a history with Elizabeth. We finally get to see it here. Great acting.

Finally, we have John Hurt, an astounding actor, always has been. He was an inspired choice to portray the War Doctor. His gravitas allowed us to really experience what the end of the Time War must have been like for this man. Great work. He is a welcome addition to the Pantheon.

Speaking of which, although they were CGI generations or old clips, having all the old Doctors together was a wonderful sight. Seeing one Old/Future Doctor was a truly wonderful to experience.

TOM BAKER. The all time greatest Doctor reappears here. Not just as an old man, but as a FUTURE DOCTOR who has assumed an “old face” and is retired as “The Curator” of this museum. The crowd was in awe when he appeared, and went nuts when it was revealed “Who” he is.

The Skinny

This was an ideal anniversary episode. The interplay between these men was phenomenal. The multiple Doctor anniversary specials were always popular in the original run. I sincerely hope that in 10 years time we get to experience another 5 Doctors adventure. For the interested, here is a list of many, if not all, of the inside callbacks to previous Who stories.

Also briefly appearing in the epic final battle to save Gallifrey, the NEXT Doctor- Peter Capaldi!

This was a stunning night out at the cinema. The crowd was in Who gear and they were ready to be amazed…and they were. They should telecast every episode of Doctor Who this way. They’d make a ton of money.